Honeymoon Length & Asking Your Boss

Ours will be around 3 weeks.
I get 3 weeks vacation annually but I've carried over an extra week from this year (unused) so i have 4 next year. At my work, if we take anything more than 2 weeks at once we need permission just to make sure there's coverage. Anything 2 weeks or less we literally say "hey boss, I'll be on vacation from this date to this date".
I plan to let my boss know before the years over when our exact dates are (still planning). Since it will be more than 2 weeks, I just want to make sure it's all good. I don't have any worries.
Actually, on that note... I'm going to talk to him now.
You will be fine- the earlier the better!

I had a very long honeymoon too. Mine was.. 18 days or so but only 11-12 of them were working days. That's still long though aha. Anyway, I have a far more understanding boss than most people so I never ask him aha I just say IM GOING. SEE YA WHEN I GET BACK. I think they'll be understanding of it knowing you're going on a honeymoon. They may not like it though but it is what it is.

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Good luck!!!

Our honeymoon is nearly 2 weeks and I am taking off the week before the wedding, so a total of three weeks gone from work. My company values family time so there wasn't much to really ask, but rather say.. I haven't taken more than 2 days off at a time in my year and a half here and I have the vacation time. So, I just went in and said I will be gone starting Nov 8 and will return Dec 2 for my wedding and honeymoon. They were actually very understanding and didn't bat an eye at the length. I also mention what we were doing for our honeymoon (Australia and New Zealand) so it was implied that it wasn't a short trip given the location and making the most of it.

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Melle, my boss is a great guy and pretty understanding. BUT, the reason I'm so anxious is that the company is very small and a girl I work with got married about 2 years back and he didn't even let her take a whole week off for her WEDDING! they didn't even go on a honeymoon. While we have different positions, she thinks his response to me will be relatively the same as his to her.

You need a plan before talking to him. If you have HR guidelines, be sure to read them and know what is or isn't allowed. Then be sure to present him with a well thought out plan to cover your duties in your absence. If you need others to cover for you, speak to them 1st to make sure they are agreeable. I would do this sooner rather than later since you may end up having to adjust your plans. It would probably be a good idea not to honeymoon right after the wedding. This way there will be less disruption to the work place.

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Da Mom, there is no HR department or guidelines and no one to "cover my shift". It's a very small agency of about 6 employees so he'd basically have to hire a freelancer to do my job if I can't cover what I need to before/after I leave. However, I do think I may be able to get my work done for the month before we leave. And, when we get back, I'd still have 3 weeks to complete anything that would be needed for that month. So, I'll use that in my pitch, thanks. As far as the honeymoon right after the wedding, it doesn't really matter. I can't dictate when this cruise leaves. The wedding is on a Sunday and the cruise leaves the following Friday night. So, I would have to go back to work for a few days after the wedding.

Oh that sounds amazing!!! Where is the cruise? And if you don't mind me asking, what's the ball park price? My husband and I are avid cruisers and I'm always looking to plan my next big vacay!! I would absolutely love that!!!

Don't be anxious! If you have the time to take off, or you're allowed to take it off, don't worry about requesting it off. I don't think your boss will have a problem with it. I think if you basically tell him you booked the honeymoon and these are the days you'll be out of the office, he can't really tell you no, right?! You're entitled to take time off, especially if you don't take much time otherwise and you have the PTO. It's odd that he told your other co-worker no. Maybe you can work later or go in early for a few weeks prior to taking that time off to kind of make up for it.

I took three weeks off, one week before the wedding and because my honeymoon went Wednesday to Wednesday it was another 2 weeks off. I told my boss as soon as I knew the dates. We get 3 weeks off a year so I just took them all at once. He was fine with it until 1 week before where he freaked out and hired someone to cover for me, that was his problem. I gave plenty of notice and I had the vacation days saved up. If they don't allow you to take your allotted vacation there are other problems, it is a terrible workplace culture when you feel guilty for taking your earned vacation.

Our honeymoon was only a week, but my husband had gone on vacation to Alaska with his brother and father for a week 2 weeks prior to our wedding. In addition to the 5 days off he needed for the honeymoon, he also wanted the Thursday and Friday before our wedding off so he needed a total of 12 days off and he only got 10 paid days so he talked to his boss and he approved him taking the time off, but he wouldn't get paid for 2 of the days. One of those 2 days he ended up being paid for after all because his vacation fell on a a holiday and his work was closed so he really ended up only not being paid for 1 day. I had lost my job while planning our wedding so when I was interviewing for a new job I told the person interviewing me that I needed a week off for my honeymoon. I would definitely explain the situation to your boss, but 19 days is a lot of time off especially if you plan on taking any additional days off leading up to the wedding.

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The cruise leaves Miami and goes to NYC, Bermuda, Ponta Delgada, Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy. It's a repositioning cruise so it's really cheap vs. other like-cruises. It's also on the cruiseline MSC (ship Divina) which is an Italian-owned and operated cruise line. We've been on an MSC ship before so we know we enjoy the experience (many routine cruisers don't like MSC because most of the people aren't from the US) For a balcony room the total price for both of us to go is about $3,150. That includes taxes and port fees. And, obviously, food. We'd have to purchase a flight back from Italy and also pay for tips, fun, and booze. I'm assuming the grand total will be about $6-9k.

I'm on salary and we get accrued PTO hours based on every day of the work we work. The total I can possibly get in a year is 9 days. By the time of the wedding, I'll have 7 PTO days (if I don't take any time off). I hardly take off but that's because I have so few PTO days in a year. So I have to factor not being paid for 11 days in as well if he does say yes. So it's not like I'm entitled to anything except for those 7 days.

Ours will only be a week long but I'll also be taking off a couple days before the wedding. I'd go talk to them ASAP. The worst they can say is no. Better to know now than later if you need to find something else.

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That's definitely an amazing deal! I've never even considered a cruise like that. I've heard mixed things about MSC so I wondered how they really are. I've been on several cruises and mostly all the people aren't from the USA. But they've all been very good experiences! My husband and I have cruised with Norwegian, Princess and Viking. Viking is a company based out of Norway and they're just incredible! But I have heard because MSC is Italian based they do things a little different than most. Fingers crossed your boss lets you take the extended time off!!

You should definitely look at your employer's policies. If you're entitled to three weeks' vacation, and don't have to get approval in advance, then your boss shouldn't be able to tell you not to use that vacation for your honeymoon. However, if it requires advance approval, or if you don't have that much vacation and need to take unpaid leave, you're best off talking to your boss before booking that cruise.

Ours will be a week. I'll just be putting in a request for that week (plus a couple extra days before and after for travel time). More times than not any time off we request will be approved. Just make sure you say something way ahead of time so they know and have enough time to find coverage if needed.

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I'd guess Viking would probably compare to MSC the most out of the ones you've been on. MSC ships are absolutely gorgeous. I've sailed Princess, Carnival (many times), RC, and MSC. The difference with MSC compared to the others wasn't much. They have great food, service, casinos, excursion options, etc. Plus, their pizza and buffets were literally the best I've ever experienced on any ship. Really the only downside I can remember is the entertainment. Since it's Italian, they do a lot of opera. Also, instead of a stand-up comedian as other lines offer, they do an improv show. We didn't go to one of these shows on the MSC Seaside but we didn't hear good things about it. We'd rather gamble or lay around than see any type of musical entertainment, so we weren't too bummed about that. I'd deff suggest not shying away from MSC if you get the chance. I find the people on Cruise Critic who are displeased with MSC are ones who are diehard Carnival or RC cruisers and they're hard to please as they require the "American standard".

Thank you for the well wishes! We really do have our hearts set on this. When I told my FH we might have to reconsider, he told me I could always quit my job! I'm planning on talking with him Friday as he is usually in the best moods before the weekend

Our honeymoon was 7 nights 8 days long. I took off 3 days for our wedding + 6 more weekdays. But my job is pretty lenient so it wasn't a big deal. How much PTO does your job typically allow for? I brought it up like any other day off I would request.

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Great advice and all good to know!! I've never been on Carnival or Royal Caribbean. I'm not too keen on Carnival because I feel like it's overrated and all the bad things happen on their ships ( I know it's just because their fleet is the largest). I would consider Royal Caribbean though. We loved Viking!! It was the most amazing experience ever!!!! Much different than the larger boats but so relaxing. I will absolutely look into MSC. I'm all about the food so if the food is good I'm there, haha!!! (And bars, need some of those,lol.) We enjoy the shows but I'd be open to operas or stand up shows. Thanks for the input!!

Haha he's a good man if he says you can quit your job!!! Haha.

My honeymoon will be a Monday-Monday after our wedding, but I'm taking off the Thursday before the wedding. I work long hours M-Th and am off on Friday's so I'm technically only taking off 6 days (although, the hours are the same as 8 normal days). My company gives us 22 vacation days a year so I'm just approaching it like normal vacation time. We accrue so much each pay period, but we're allowed to be in the negative (instead of having to only use the amount we've accrued so far in the year) so although, I won't have accrued all those hours, it doesn't matter. My coworker just took off 2 weeks straight a few months ago, and my supervisor didn't really bat an eye since she ensured she would get as much work done before she left.

I think it really depends on your job honestly. I get 15 days a year and starting January (3 year job anni) will have 20 days a year, plus 3 personal days. I work for a non-profit, am a director and, my job can absolutely manage without me. I can easily miss 18 days without there being a problem. I plan on taking three days off for the wedding and 10 days for the honeymoon. But, that might not be your case. So, I would definitely suggest letting him know your dates in advanced.